Signaling apparatus.



PATENTED FEB.17, 1903.

'H.-S. HOOVER. SIGNALING APPARATUS. APPLiGATION FILED we. a, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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INVENTOH WITNESSES:

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PATENTED PE B.17, 1903. H. s. HOOVER.

SIGNALING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATIbN FILED AUG. 6, 1902 HO'KODEL.

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. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY SHELDON HOOVER, on SILVEROREEK, NEBRASKA.

SIGNALING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 721,043, dated February17, 1903.

Application filed August 6, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY SHELDON HOOVER, of Silvercreek, in the countyof Merrick and State of Nebraska,' have invented a new andusefullmprovementin Signaling Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

My object is to provide a signal of very simple construction andoperation that will be automatically operated to indicate to theengineer of a passing train how long it has been since a previous trainhas passed and will antomatically return to its normal position after apredetermined time ready to be operated upon by the next train.

I My device is operated by a passing train or engine and is entirelyindependent of human or electrical aid. When it is once properlyadjusted and set to its work, there is no further expense for operationor maintenance.

My invention consists in certain novel constructions, combinations, andarrangements of parts, which will now be pointed out and claimed in theappended specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this application, and in which-- q Figure l is aperspective view of myinvention in operative position bya railroad-trackand ready'to be operated upon by a passing engine or train. Fig. 2 is avertical crosssection taken through the signal-box and the telescopingtie, the parts in the position they assume immediately after an engineor train has passed over the telescoping tie. Fig. 3 is a partial viewsimilar to Fig. 2, but showing the signal and the parts connecteddirectly therewith collapsed or in the position they finally assumeafter the time limit within which the signal is set to operate has beenreached or passed. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the check-valve usedwith my device.

Referring to the drawings, A is a portion of a railroad-track equippedwith my improved signaling device. B is the telescoping tie in saidtrack and forms a housing or casing for the flexible'bag or receptacle0, which is designed to be filled with a fluid, preferably of anantifreezing nature, such as alcohol or the like.

(1 is the pipe which connects the lower receptacle c with a smallerflexible bag or re- Serial in. 118,824. on man.)

'ceptacle e, suitably located within the signal box or pole.

The telescoping tie B has springs b interposed between its upper andlower sections, which serve to hold them normally expanded from eachother. These springs are preferably coil-springs, one being located ineach corner of the tie. The tie is further provided with the bolts g,which are also preferably four in number and located in the corners ofthe tie. These bolts serve the double purpose of holding the spiralsprings in proper operative position and location and also of preventingthe two sections of the tie from separating too far from each other. Inorder that the nuts on the upper ends of these bolts may not projectabove the top section of the tie when the sameis depressed, I providethe bolts at their upper ends with shoulders and reduced portions g, asshown in Fig. 2. In each case the nut f is received on top of the uppersection of the tie upon the reduced end g of the bolt, while theshoulder of the bolt is drawn up tightly against the under side of saidsection, which arrangement makes the bolts a rigid part of the topsection of the tie; The body of each bolt projects downwardly throughthe lower section of the tie and has its head immediately underneathsaid section. The holes in the lower section of the tie are made to litthe bolts loosely, so that the said bolts may move freely therein. Toprevent the heads of these bolts from catching dirt or gravel when thetop section of the tie is depressed, Iprovide the caps h,which aresuitably secured to the under side of the lower section of the tie andare of sufficient depth to permit the necessary downward movement of thebolts.

These caps serve the additional purpose of holding the lower section ofthe tie more firmly in the bed of the track. The registering slot-s t'are provided in the lapping sections of the tie at the end next thesignal.

upwardly to within a short distance of the top section, so that thelatter can only be de- IOu . pipe.

pressed a short distance. Hence it appears that while the upwardmovement of the top section is limited by the bolts 9 its downwardmovement is likewise limited to a very short distance by the upturnedportion of the lower section of the tie, the reason of which Will bereferred to hereinafter. It will also be noticed that the dependingportions of the upper section of the tie overlap the upwardly-projectingportions of the lower section.

The rails may be secured to the top section of the tie in any preferred,way and when so secured also serve as powerful springs to bring the topsection of the tie back to its normal position after it has beendepressed;

but should the fastening between the'telescop-' ing tie and the railgetbroken orjarred loose the springs b will still insure the return ofsaid upper section to its normal position.

The bag 0 when filled with fluid is of just suificient thickness to besnugly received between-the top and bottom sections of the tie. Hence itfollows that when the top section of the tie is depressed pressure willbe applied to the fluid within the bag, which will force a portionthereof to pass outwardly through the horizontal pipe 61 and upwardlythrough the vertical pipej into the upper bag 6, which is suspended inthe signal-box with its lower end connected to the upper end of saidvertical The upper bag a is suspended between the rear side of thesignal-box and the flat bar k, which latter is pivoted at its upper endand at its lower or free end is adapted to cooperate with the free orinner end of the signal-operating lever Z. This lever is a bellcrankpivoted to the signal box or pole at Z and is connected at its other endto the signal-opcrating rod m, through which it controls the movementsand positions of the signal.

From the construction shown it is apparent that when a locomotive or atrain passes over the telescoping tie the fluid will be forced out ofthe bag 0, through the pipes d and j, into the bag 6, which will inflatethe same and cause the lower or free end of the bar In to moveoutwardly, which being in engagement with the inner end of the lever Zwill operate through the rod m to display the signal 'n, as shown inFig. 2.

' The lever I, just referred to, may, if desired, be provided at itsinner end with a slot 1 adapted to receive the staple carried by the bar70 at its lower end. By this arrangement the free ends of the bar It andthe lever Z are secured in proper relation to each other. However, ifthe slot and staple be omitted the device will still be thoroughlyoperative, as

the weight of the signal will always hold the said lever Z in engagementwith the bar 70.

When my signaling device is installed on a railroad, the telescoping tieB, the bags 0 and e, and the pipes connecting-the same are placed in theposition shown in Fig.2, and a check-valve O in the pipe j is opened andthe fluid is poured in thereat till the bag 0 and the pipes below saidopening are filled. Then the check-valve is closed. At this time theupper bag is deflated and the parts operated by it, including thesignal, will all be in the position shown in Fig. 3. When a train passesover the track, the top section ofthe telescoping tie will be depressedupon the lower bag a, and this will cause the fluid to rush upwardlythrough the valve into the upper bag 6 and inflate the same. This inturn will force the lower or free end of the depending bar 70outwardly,which being connected as it is with the signal-lever Z willcause the signal to assume the position illustrated in Fig. 2. In orderthat this effect may be produced with unerring certainty, even when asingle locomotive passes at a high rate of speed, it is desirable thatthe pipes connecting the two bags should be comparatively large, asshown.

In order that the bags 0 and 8 may not be subjected to unnecessarypressure, the telescoping tie is so constructed, as already referred to,that when its upper member has been depressed sulficiently to give theproper inflation to the upper bag to display the signal the top sectionof said upper-member will rest upon the upturned ends of the lowersections of the tie. In order that the required depression of thetelescoping tie may be so slight as not to jar or otherwise interferewith the fastest trains, it is desirable that the bag e should be smallas compared with the bag 0, so that a very slight depression of thelatter will sufficiently inflate the former.

The check-valve O which I employ has a large valve 0' to permit the freeupward passage of the fluid. This valve 0' is provided with a very smallopening or leak 0 which permits the fluid in the upper bag to graduallyleak out and work its way back into the lower bag and pipes. As thefluid leaks out of the upper bag the signal gradually descends, and whenthe fluid has all escapedinto the lower bag and pipes the upper portionsof the device assume the position shown in Fig. 3. If it is desired thatthe signal shall remain displayed a long time after a train has passed,the opening 0 is made correspondingly small; if only a short time it ismade larger.

From the foregoing it is apparent that when an engineman is onceinformed as to the predetermined length of time it requires for thesignal to descend from the horizontal position (illustrated in Fig. 2)to the vertical position (shown in Fig. 3) he will be enabled to judgefrom the position ofthe signal how long it has been since a train haspassed, and as a signal can be seen much farther than an ordinary dialmy invention possesses a decided advantage in that respect over signalsusing dials.

For night service my signal is provided with any desired number ofcolored glasses to cooperate with the ordinary lamp. In Figs.

'2 and 3 I have illustrated the signal as pro- When the signal is in theposition shown in Fig. 2, the flame of the lamp will be seen from anapproaching train through the red glass. When it is in a dependentposition, as shown in Fig. 3, the fiam+ will be seen through the greenglass] From the shape of the two pieces of glass and from the positionof the line which divides them it will be seen that when the signaloccupies an angle of about fortyfive degrees about one-half the flamewill be seen through the red glass and one-half through the green. Hencefor practical purposes it is thought that two colors of glass will besnfficient.

In the construction of the different parts of my device I employ anykind of material that may be best suited to the requirements of thecaseas, for instance, I may find it expedient to make the bar we of woodor some other material that will not be perceptibly expanded orcontracted by heat or cold.

It will be understood that cylinders having pistons adapted to beoperated by a fluid under pressure may be substituted in some instancesfor thebags c and 6 without departing from some of the broad principlesof my invention; but I prefer the constructions as shown and beforedescribed.

Instead of the small aperture or leak in the stopcock valve for theescape of the fluid from the upper bag to the lower a very smallreturn-pipe may be used, in which case one end of said return-pipe wouldbe in communication with the upper bag 6 at some point above thestop-cock and the other end would he in communication with the lower bagcatsome point below said stopcock; but the valve with the leak is mypreferred construction for this purpose.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Theimprovementinsignalingapparatus herein described consisting of therails, a tel escoping tie having upper and lower sections and locatedbeneath the rails and having its upper section secured to the rails,springs within said tie holding its upper and lower sections normallyseparated from each other; bolts for securing the springs in properposition and location and for preventing too great a separation of thesections of the telescoping tie from each other, a flexible bag withinthe tie designed to be filled with a fluid and when so filled to be of athickness equal to the space between the two sections of the tie, thesig- Dal-box, a smaller flexible bag located in the signal-box,registering slots in the end sections of the telescoping tie next thesignalhox, a pipe connected to the flexible bag and extending outwardlythrough said slots and connecting with the upper bag, a check-valvewithin the said pipe and having a leak, a depending bar pivoted at itsupper end and having its lower end free and resting against the smallerflexible bag adapted to move outward and inward therewith, asignal-operating lever pivoted near its center to the signal-box havingits inner arm in engagement with the free end of the depending bar tomove there with, a signal-operating bar carried by the outer arm of saidlever and connecting the same with the signal, and a frame at the rearend of the signal having an open space in the form of an are, said spacebeing provided with sections of transparent material designed to occupya space in a line extending from the flame of the lamp to an approachingtrain, said sections of glass being separated from each other by anoblique line, all arranged as specified and for the purpose set forth.

2. In signaling apparatus, a laterally-compressible bag suitably locatedwithin a railroad-track and adapted to contain a fluid and to bedepressed by a passing train to expel the fluid, a yielding receptacleinto which said fluid is received when thus expelled,suitable means forthe passage of said fluid between the receptacles, and means forutilizing the operation of the latter receptacle for operating thesignal as specified and for the purpose set forth.

3. In signaling apparatus, the combination with a yielding bag locatedbeneath a railroad-track and adapted to be filled with a fluid and to bedepressed by a passing train to expel the fluid, of the signal-box and asecond or receiving yielding bag located within the signal-box, anddesigned to receive the fluid when expelled from the first bag, suitablemeans of communication between the two bags, a pivoted bar having a freeend resting against the upper bag and adapted to move outwardly andinwardly therewith as the bag is filled and emptied and asignal-operating lever, connected at its free end to the free end of thesaid depending bar, whereby the signal is displayed when the upper bagis inflated.

4:. In a signaling apparatus, a yielding casing or housing locatedbeneath a railroadtrack; a yielding receptacle within said housing,designed to be filled with a fluid and to be depressed by the action ofa passing train upon said housing to expel the fluid, a signalbox and asecond receptacle located within the signal-box and receiving the fluidwhen expelled from the firstreceptacle, a pipe connecting the tworeceptacles, a check-valve within said pipe designed to permit a freeupward rush of the fluid through said pipe and a very slow return of thesame, and means cooperating with the upper receptacle for displaying thesignal when the former is inflated, whereby the signal is displayed,when the lower bag is depressedby a passing train, and is graduallylowered as the expelled fluid slowly returns to the receptacle fromwhich it was violently expelled as set forth.

5. In signaling apparatus, an elongated inflatable bag compressibletransversely, a

signal-controlling lever operated by the trans verse expansion of saidbag, and means for utilizing the weight of a passing train to in- ICCflate the bag as specified and for the purpose set forth.

6. In signaling apparatus, a telescoping tie adapted to be slightlydepressed by a passing train, a yielding bag of large horizontal arealocated therein, means for holding the sections of the tie normallyseparated from each other, a signal-box, a flexible receiving-baglocated in the signal-box, a pipe connecting the two bags, and meansoperated by the receiving-bas, to display the signal when the latter isinflated, whereby a slight depression of the tie serves to fully inflatethe small bag and thereby display the signal.

7. In signaling apparatus a pivoted signal having a plurality ofsections of transparent material arranged concentric to said pivot anddesigned to be successively displayed before a light as the signalchanges its position; said transparent sections being separated fromeach other by a line tangential to the pivot-point of the signal asspecified and for the purpose set forth.

8. A signal apparatus comprising an expansible and compressibletrack-section, an expanding and contracting receiving-section incommunication with the track-section, and arranged to be inflated anddeflated when the track-section is depressed and released, and a signalarranged for operation by the receiving-section as set forth.

9. In signaling apparatus, an elongated laterally-yielding receiving-bagcombined with the signal, and a pivoted bar depending alongside of saidbag, and pivoted at its upper end whereby its lower end may move outwardas the receiving-bag is inflated, and intermediate devices between themovable end of said bag and the signal, as specified.

10. In signalingapparatns,thecombination with the signal and thesignal-box, of the receiving-bag suspended within the signal-box, meanswhereby the said bag may be inflated by a passing train, and meanswhereby the said bag may operate the signal as shown and described.

11. In signaling apparatus, a signal having a plurality of sections ofglass of contrasting colors sepa rated from each other by an obliqueline as set forth.

12. In a signaling apparatus the combination of a bag extendinglengthwise beneath and transverse the track, and adapted to becompressed transversely by a passing train; a receptacle connected withsaid bag, and adapted to receive fluid therefrom when the bag iscompressed and means whereby said receptacle can operate a signal.

HENRY SHELDON HOOVER.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. BRUCE, WILLIAM BREEN.

